


Rose-colored Boy

by LiyennaKhaderi



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-16 20:49:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14818598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiyennaKhaderi/pseuds/LiyennaKhaderi
Summary: Keith doesn't want to go to school, but he's forced to by his foster home. He didn't want to make friends, but you don't always get what you want.And he definitely didn't want to fall in love.As soon as he reaches the school, things go downhill for Keith. But he already faces demons, and people don't hurt him as much as they used to.He is laughed at by everyone, even the teachers. Because who would ever accept a guy like him?A guy with a tragic backstory doesn't mean shit to others, and he's learned to toughen up and not to trust easily. He trusted once, and it ended in disaster.That is, Keith didn't trust until he met him, and all of a sudden, life didn't seem that bad.





	1. Chapter 1

I trudged into school after the long walk from my foster home. I didn't ask to be in this stupid program. Why did I have to be picked?

Hopefully, no one gets too close. Nobody would pay any attention to a guy like me, anyway.

I stepped into my first class, anxiety causing me to tense up.

You see, I just didn't fit in with other kids. I didn't fit in with anyone, really. I could be a little normal if I tried, but my lazy ass can't do shit. So I've stopped trying.

Now, I'm just a gay orphan who denies his depression even though the scars running up his arms prove otherwise.

I just want to be normal, that's all I ask.

I looked at my teacher with what must have been dull eyes and she smiled, standing up. "Kids, this is our new student, Keith. Be kind to him, and try to become his friend!" I subtly shook my head. I didn't want friends, it only gave me more opportunities to hurt others. "Now, Keith, would you like to tell us a bit about yourself?"

I shook my head and shuffled off to the only free seat, which was next to a boy who was staring at me with a small smile. I wish he wouldn't, it only made him harder to hate. 

I dropped my bag beside the desk and put my head in my arms, forcing myself to ignore the silence of everyone else in the room that was pressing down on me. I squeezed my eyes closed, pretending not to hear my teachers concerned questions.

Oh, how I wished to be left alone. If only for a few hours.

Every second of every day I was being questioned or tested or glared at by peers and elders, who all thought of themselves as higher than me.

They weren't wrong, I wasn't even fit for a person with no standards. 

No one could love someone like me.

Eventually, I had lifted my head, only to rest my chin on my still-crossed arms that were laid on the desk. The teacher was talking about some useless shit that I wouldn't need in a few years from now. 

This was pointless.

I decided to waste my time looking at others instead. I made my way down the rows one-by-one, wondering what each person was like. I would never find out. I didn't want to find out. Finding out would mean growing close, and I was not ready for that type of commitment and relationship.

Hell, I can't even talk to people anymore.

My eyes finally settled on the boy who had smiled at me and stayed there. He was gorgeous. My gay being just couldn't take it.

His eyes were oceans and all I could do was drown, helplessly pleading for someone to save me. I was pretty sure I might die.

He looked my way and smiled another one of his smiles.

Yeah, I was going to die.

I quickly looked away, looking anywhere - anywhere - but in his direction. I would only get pulled back in. I couldn't hurt someone like that, I couldn't let him know that I had a small interest in him.

It would only end up in tears and yelling and pain.

I should know.

"Hey, you alright?" I froze. No. Someone wasn't talking to me. This wasn't happening. It was just a figment of my dull and damp imagination. I haven't spoken in so long that it created a voice to speak to me. 

Maybe if I didn't respond it would go away. 

A hand settled on my shoulder and I yelped, jumping a little. The class paused and looked at me, and I looked at who had touched me.

The boy with ocean-eyes.

He had actually noticed me.

"Lance," the teachers' tone was full of warning. Lance, then. "What did you do to Keith?"

"Nothing, Miss. He just looked upset so I asked him what was wrong and when he didn't answer I put a hand on his shoulder and he just... yelled." Lance's voice was beautiful, and I could probably sit here just listening to it all day. 

"Detention, young man. You should know better than to touch someone without permission."

"But -"

"No 'buts,' now go!" She pointed to the door and before I could stop myself I got up and started leaving. "Keith, sweetheart, where are you going?"

"D-detention," my voice was croaky and my throat hurt from all the months of not speaking. "I was the one to cause the disturbance." I continued to leave before she called me back and told me to sit down. I took my seat but did not look in the direction of where Lance sat.

I knew that if I did, he would be smiling. And maybe I wouldn't be able to smile back.

I sat through the rest of the forty-minute class, then droning through the next two until it was finally time for lunch. Nothing exciting happened, but I did notice that Lance was in all my classes except for one. 

And he had friends in every one of them.

And he was able to make anybody laugh.

And that he was always smiling.

He was practically perfect, and everything I couldn't be. 

If only I could smile, maybe that would light up other peoples days. 

Well, nothing exciting happened until lunch time. A kid like me in a school like this, of course, I was going to be bullied. They always seemed to find who the weakest kids were, the ones who couldn't stand up for themselves without sobbing like the messes they were.

And, unfortunately, I was one of those kids.

I let myself get beaten up. I didn't pay attention to what they said, who they were, why they did it. I just let them do it. I gave up so easily, and the pain was so deserved. 

Yes, I deserved it. Every single torturous second of it.

I only got out with a few bruises and a split lip. Not the worst, but I have looked better.

No matter how hard it was to believe that.

I slumped against the lockers, not even trying to get up when I heard voices floating down from another hall. A few kids walked into the hallway where I lay, hurt physically and emotionally. Maybe even mentally. I could only see them by their shoes, and from what I could tell there were four boys and a girl. They were all laughing.

This one would hurt more, especially since I already had a few bruises on me.

"Oh my God!" a feminine voice shrieked, and I spotted the girls' shoes stopping, meaning that she had stopped walking. "Shiro, he's hurt!" The rest of the group had stopped walking and were all standing there, looking down on me.

Or at least I thought they were looking down at me. All I could see were shoes. 

They walked closer, all of them crouching around me.

There was a girl with short, dyed-white hair and dark skin, her teal eyes holding only concern. She was holding the hand of a muscular boy with black hair, only a strip of it dyed-white. It was probably to make them a matching couple. The one next to him was the smallest of the group and looked like both a boy and a girl. I couldn't tell. They had caramel hair and similarly colored eyes. It was nice. The next boy had dark hair with a bandana wrapped around his tan forehead. And the boy who was crouched down next to him...

It was Lance. 

I whimpered at the sight of him, hating him for looking so perfect at such a horrible time. I hated myself for looking so horrible at what could have been such a perfect time. 

The whimper turned into a sob which turned into me crying in front of five strangers. I covered my face with my hands, not wanting anyone to see me in such a state. "G-go away!" I wailed, my voice muffled by my hands. "L-leave me a-alone!" 

"No, you're hurt," the girl said firmly. Through a crack in my fingers, I saw her get up and hold out a hand in an offering to help me up.

I wasn't going to take it.

That means that I would be one step closer to having friends. I would not - could not - let that happen.

But I couldn't get up alone. I was weak. I couldn't feel my legs and my feet had fallen asleep. 

So I reached out - 

and I took her hand.


	2. Chapter 2

I regretted my choice as soon as I began reaching out, but I couldn't just stop my hand from taking hers. It would make everything so much more awkward. Besides, it was best to be helped now, instead of later on when more people began filing in from lunch.

She pulled me to my feet with more strength than I thought she would have. Thankfully, she seemed to sense my discomfort and let go of my hand immediately. Or it could just be that she didn't want to hold my hand. Either one worked just fine.

"I'm Allura," she said, smiling softly. She seemed nice enough, but I knew not to judge a book by its cover. I had had enough of snakes. "Do you need any help?" I shook my head, my hair getting flicked into my eyes.

I grabbed my bag and tried walking away, but my walking turned into stumbling and my stumbling turned into falling. I was back on the floor in a helpless heap. 

A soft gasp sounded behind me and Allura was right back at my side, helping me up. "You need to be more careful!" As if someone like her would care about me. 

I tried again to walk on my own but I could only stumble a few steps before needing to rest. Maybe the bullies had hurt me harder than I thought. Or maybe I was just weak.

Allura stayed by my side, helping me down the hall. And then I realized I didn't know where I was going. "Where do I need to go to next?" I don't know why I asked her, but I did. She looked at me with confusion.

It's alright, I wanted to say, I don't even know what I'm saying. But I kept quiet. 

She had told me her name, helped me up, and was now helping me get to wherever I wanted to go. Was this what having a friend felt like? Were they always there to help you? Where they always there to make sure you got somewhere safely?

Well, I wouldn't ever know. I'm never going to have friends, whether I want to or not. I couldn't force someone to like me.

I felt myself begin to go into a state of numbness, a state which usually happened before my real crying happened. Before I had to bite my hand to the point of making myself bleed for me not to scream and wail in pain. 

I dropped to the ground like a stone in water. I heard Allura calling to her friends, but I didn't hear it. At least, I didn't hear it clearly. String arms lifted me up and carried me through a few hallways and down a few stairs, into a small white office that made my eyes burn. 

I didn't know where I was, but it seemed like a nurses office. I didn't need medical attention. I would do just fine. They didn't need to tend to the bruises, I've dealt with worse.

I couldn't say any of this, though. I couldn't gather up enough energy to even open my eyes.

Hands began to unzip my hoodie pulling it off me. I heard a few gasps. They hadn't even seen the bruises yet, why were they acting so surprised? My shirt was gently lifted to reveal the lower part of my abdomen.

I laid still through the rest of the process, although I couldn't do much else. It was too painful to even focus on the words that they exchanged. They spoke a lot, I realized. My arms were lifted and examined a few times, too. 

It didn't make sense. I had no bruises on my arms. The real source of pain was being completely ignored as I suffered.

And they were interested in my arms. 

And then, through the swarm of voices that filled up the emptiness, there was the caretaker of my foster home. Arnold. He was probably here to hit me for getting hurt. He didn't like paying for all my medical problems.

He completely ignored the fact that I needed antidepressants.

Oh.

Oh no.

My arms. They had checked my arms. My hoodie was off. People were around me. The small gasp that had happened. Arnold. 

They had seen the scars. The very scars I had inflicted upon myself. 

There was no going back from here. Everyone would know. Every single person in this goddamn school would know that I, Keith Kogane, go to a foster home. 

That I, Keith Kogane, am struggling with depression.

That I, Keith Kogane, still have parents somewhere out there, but they just don't want me.

That I, Keith Kogane, was a fake. Such a fucking fake. 

I try so hard to be unnoticed. It was their fault, the bullies. They bruised me and left me there, not even leaving me somewhere where no one would find me. And then Allura, Lance, their friends. They brought me to wherever I was.

And then whoever was here called Arnold. I was so screwed. I was going to be dead - if not because of suicide - at the hands of my 'caretaker' for being such a horrible foster child. For not accepting that I at least had a home and a brand new school to go to.

But maybe I didn't want a home. 

No home means no food. No food means starving. Starving can lead to death. And, for me, death leads to happiness. 

Maybe I just wasn't used to being cared about. I hadn't ever been cared about before, anyway. I wouldn't know how it felt like.

But Allura, Lance, and them, they cared that I got to a place where I would be healed. But they didn't know me. Maybe they were in league with the bullies. Maybe they just wanted to see me crash and burn. Repeatedly. 

I let out a soft moan and blinked my eyes open, squinting them at the harsh light that lit up the place I was in. 

Above me were the faces of Arnold, Allura, Lance, Allura's boyfriend, the boy with the bandana, the person who seemed to be neither male nor female, and another lady that I didn't recognize. 

I hated all of them.

Even the beautiful face of Lance and the helpful smile of Allura. All of them had led me to a cliff and were trying to push me off the edge. I wouldn't allow it. I would not give in to their demands.

See a therapist? Nope.

Become friends? Nope. 

Anything else they asked would only lead to the same answer: no.

"Get away from me," I slurred, my words blurring together from the lack of food and sleep. Or maybe it was just the weight of everyone staring at me. I could never tell.

Sweetie," started the lady who I didn't know. "Why are there scars on your arms? Would you like to explain?" Again, no and no. Although 'no' as the answer to the first question didn't make much sense.

I shook my head as an answer but Arnold firmly grabbed my wrist. "Ex-plain," he ground out through gritted teeth. As if I would do as he says. I had enough of his dictatorship at home, maybe I could actually be free at school.

I quickly let my eyes dart from side-to-side, searching the room for any way of escaping. There was only one door, and a couple windows. But I didn't feel like jumping out a window just yet. 

I sat up with a lot of effort, lazily waving off the people who wanted to help me. "I'm going," was all I mumbled before grabbing my hoodie and slipping off of the uncomfortable bed I was placed in. "None of you know me, so why should you care about how I am?" 

Everyone looked at one-another with wariness. They didn't know how to respond.

"But we just want to help," said Lance, with that perfect voice of his and those perfect lips that were tilted downwards at the sides in a frown. 

I wanted to hurt the person who made him pout.

Oh, wait. That person was me. I already hurt me enough, so it's good. The person who's hurting Lance is being punished.

Don't you worry.

"I don't need your help," I snarled, shoving him away from me when he tried walking closer. He looked hurt, but how could you feel hurt when someone you didn't know pushed you away?

He wasn't hurt. It was my stupid excuse for imagination acting up again. 

"Now leave me alone and let me get through the rest of the day." My bag was lying on the floor. Someone must have brought it in. I grabbed it, but before I could go, Arnold stepped forward.

"Keith, we're speaking about this later." His voice was so damn calm. I wanted to talk his pale neck and snap it, to relish in the sharp crack it would make and the screams that it would unleash from others. 

Oh, how I wanted to kill him.

"No, Dad, we're not." My sharp retort used the word 'dad' as an insult. He knew that I hated my parents. He knew that they were the reasons for all the hatred that was bundled up inside of me. He knew that I was cutting.

He just didn't like acting on the things he knew.

He and I were alike, in that way.


	3. Chapter 3

I had just walked out of the small office, my anger getting the better of me. I had spoken more than one sentence, and I was feeling better than I had in months.

Maybe it was the fact that I had finally done something other than give in to Arnold. Or maybe it was because Lance had said something to me.

I could care less, as long as I could keep up this mood forever.

But, like all things, it had to end.

"Hey, new kid!" I closed my eyes, curling and uncurling my hands into fists. I didn't have time for this. I continued to stride forward, still not knowing where I was heading and not wanting to pause long enough to get my schedule out of my bag. 

I didn't want them to catch up. I would only be left with more bruises, laying against lockers to keep myself sitting upright. I didn't want to be hurt any more than I needed to be. 

When would my punishments end?

I finally knew where I was heading. 

I needed to get home - and quick. An uneasiness had settled onto me, and I didn't want to be alone for too long. I couldn't be alone for too long. I would go insane. 

My fast-paced steps still weren't enough to get me to the foster home in time before someone pulled me into an alleyway and slammed me against a wall. 

I should've taken the long route. The one with flowers and typical white families with kids named Blueberry and all those stupid golden retrievers. It was safer than the route I had taken. The one where screams could be heard every minute. The one where I saw someone get killed once. The one where I knew I wasn't safe but went into anyway.

Maybe it was the thrill of getting hurt. 

Maybe I just always wanted to hurt.

Foul-smelling breath filled my nostrils and I scrunched up my nose in disgust. The man before me was drunk, I could tell. I struggled against his grip but then thought, Why would it matter if he murdered me? 

It would be fine if I died here and now. 

I wouldn't care.

"What're you doin' out on a night like this, kid?" the man slurred. He was definitely drunk, it wasn't even dark outside! "It's dangerous..." He grinned at me viciously, his pupils dilated.

Maybe I didn't want to die like this. It would be pathetic.

I struggled harder against his grip, but to no avail. I screamed for help. I screamed over and over and over again. No one came. It made sense. Why would people who hear screams so often care about mine? They were probably all hidden in their homes, hiding.

I should've stayed at 'home.' I was safer there than I was walking around shady neighborhoods. 

I was just giving up when I heard the sound of someone running. Someone running in my direction. 

It didn't sound like just one person, there seemed to be a few different people.

Maybe this guy was part of a gang. Mayb-

He had a knife. He was holding a real knife that could kill me with one stab or slice in the right place.

I really hope that those footsteps coming my way weren't his friends. I didn't have any friends, but I hope that they come and help me. I don't want to die like this. I want to choose the way I die. The time, the place, the way.

I definitely wouldn't have chosen an alley and by a small knife.

But hope was never on my side. Occasionally, a good thing would happen.

But mostly it was just bad, horrible, disgustingly irritable things that happened. I was used to it, though. 

"Well, you look like someone who would have a little money on them," the man continued to slur on, apparently not caring about being caught. It was either because he knew no one would come help me, or because he was drunk. Really drunk.

I refused to speak and he held the knife to my neck. "Give it, kid."

Well, I wanted to stay alive a little longer. 

I pointed to my bag that was lying forgotten on the ground. He crouched down, releasing his hold on me. While he scavenged through my bag, I inched away from him, ready to make a run for it.

I did. I sprinted as fast as I could, ignoring his yells and praying that he would stay behind.

The sounds of people running. Where were they?

"Oof!" I groaned as I ran face first into something, my eyes squeezed shut. I rubbed my head and blinked up, seeing a face above me. I scrambled backward and tried to grab anything - anything - to use for defense.

Nothing.

"Hey," the guy who was leaning over me said, holding out a hand. "That's where you went!" 

Dear God, do you really want to make my life a living Hell?!

It was Lance. Did he follow me here? 

I cautiously accepted his hand, letting him help me up.

"Man, what happened to you?" He was studying my neck and I self-consciously rubbed it. He moved my hand aside and narrowed his eyes, still staring at the same part. "Who gave you that cut? It's gonna scar." 

Cut?! Scar?!

I tried to look at it, later realizing that it was on my neck. I probably looked like a fool. 

I pulled my phone out of my back pocket, thanking everything that I believed in that the drunk guy didn't check my pockets for anything. I put it on selfie-mode and let out a tiny gasp of shock at what I saw.

Blood was leaking out of a long but shallow gash that went across the length of my neck horizontally. I looked down at my fingers and observed the red liquid that had stained it.

What would another scar do to me, anyway? I didn't have to care.

I shrugged and pushed past Lance. "I'm going home." 

He hesitated before stopping me. "Hey, wait. Your dad asked us to bring you back to your home if we found you. He didn't want you going alone." Dad?! So he didn't know I was an orphan. The less he knew, the better.

I shook my head stubbornly, pulling away from him. "I will manage just fine on my own." Lance nodded but raised an eyebrow, pointedly looking at my new cut. 

"Sure you will..." He grinned devilishly. "I'm still walking you, though." 

We kept arguing back-and-forth until he finally won after telling me he would purposefully make someone mug me.

An interesting argument, but it worked well. I believed him.

We began to walk but he wasn't leading me in the direction of my house. Instead, we walked to another house and he kicked the door open, walking inside. 

"You were supposed to take me to my house," I snapped, standing in the doorway so that he couldn't leave or close the door. "Where are we and why?!" 

He smiled and I couldn't help but blush. "This is where I live with my friends. You met them." 

Friends? Oh, right. Allura and Co. 

Someone came bounding down the stairs. "Lance! You found him!" It was the person who didn't like either a girl of a boy. They kicked Lance in the shins and then held out a hand for me to shake. "I'm Pidge!"

I cautiously shook their hand, wary that they might pull a knife out of the pocket of their sweater.

These guys didn't seem like the type to do that, but you could never be sure. Their house was nice enough, much nicer than I thought a home could be in this area. It was clean and organized, save for a couple sheets of paper lying around.

A few more people came downstairs, and I felt myself locking up and going into defense mode. They wouldn't take me, dead or alive. I was going to get out of here safe and sound and make my way back to the foster home.

I stayed standing in the doorway, eyeing everyone.

"Lance, you're being rude!" someone scolded, bracing his hands on his hips. "Invite him inside and get him something to eat and drink, he must be exhausted." Even though he seemed only a year or two older than Lance, he was acting like a dad.

He smiled and clapped me on my back, making me flinch. "I'm Shiro!" His smile was welcoming enough, but he was buff and if I had to take him on in any fight I would lose. Immediately. 

Allura pushed her way past him and hugged me. Why was she hugging me? She didn't even know me! "Ugh, you had us so worried!" She did look worried, but masks. She could be wearing one right now. I wore one all the time: a smile.

"S-sorry?" I didn't know what else to say. Was there anything else to say?

A heavier-set guy skipped forward holding a tray with sandwiches on it. "Want one? I'm Hunk!" 

I shook my head and nervously clasped my hands behind my back. They were a large group, and I would definitely lose if I were to fight them.

But, Keith, maybe everything isn't a fight?

Shut up. Don't trust anyone. Don't befriend anyone. Don't. 

I had to listen to myself. I couldn't trust or befriend them at all. 

But I wanted to.

For the first time in a while, I actually wanted to trust.

I angrily growled at myself, making the other people in the room exchange confused glances. Lance came back with a glass of water and handed it to me. I took it but did not drink. 

"Keith, are you alright?" Shiro looked concerned, but the crumbs on his face kind of ruined the effect. He put his hand that wasn't holding the sandwich on my shoulder, looking at me with stern eyes. "You can tell us."

"I can't trust or befriend anyone," I mumbled, more to myself than the others. "I'm walking myself home." I took his hand off my shoulder and handed him the glass of water. "Thank you for trying to help me, but it won't work out."

I left them to stand there not knowing what the fuck just happened.


	4. Chapter 4

I was lying down in bed, miserably staring up at the ceiling. Some of the paint was coming off, and since I was on the top bunk I could play with it.

I was peeling off a long strip of ruined paint when one of the people who shared a room walked in. I let my hand drop and tried lying still, my hand twitching slightly. 

"Keith, I know it's you," came Loyd's voice. He was one of the rare people who didn't mind me, but I wouldn't say we were friends. "You gotta get up, you haven't eaten properly in two days!"

I sat up and rubbed my face with the palms of my hands. I let out a small groan and shook my head. "I don't feel like eating. I'm not hungry." I opened one of my eyes to see Loyd standing there, fists braced on his hips.

"Up. Now." He strode to the ladder of my bunk and climbed halfway up it, reaching a hand over and grabbing the bottom of my pants. "I need you to go down there right now and eat something. Anything!" 

I shook my head again and shook my leg, his grip on my jeans loosening up. "Go away, Loyd. I'm not hungry." I glared down at him and kicked his arm. "Leave me alone."

Loyd sighed and angrily stomped out of the room. He was mad, sure, but it isn't my fault that he cares so much about others. It's a weakness.

I was about to lie back down, but the door was opened once again. I was about to tell Loyd to go away, but someone else had entered the room.

"If you think that that small incident is going to keep you from going to school, you're wrong." Arnold was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. I glared at him and felt tears forming, glazing over my eyes.

"I don't want to talk to you right now," I whispered, ducking my head down so that he wouldn't see the tears falling down my cheeks. It wasn't a small incident! People saw my scars! They saw what made me most vulnerable, and I couldn't do anything to take it back.

"Listen, Keith, those students who brought you to the nurse cared about you enough to help. Let them get close. You can't just push everyone away because of one thing your parents did." Wrong words. 

"Oh, so my parents leaving me is suddenly not a problem anymore? It ruined my whole fucking life, you idiot!" I yelled, finally looking at him. Arnold looked bored and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Don't argue, Keith. It won't do you any good. You're going to school, so get up." He walked out of the room, leaving me to sit on my bed alone. 

I was still going to school, and I was going to be bullied. 

Hopefully, I could avoid Lance.

...

I stepped into the building that was the spitting image of hell to me. I felt like I was being watched, but when I looked around no one was even looking my way. I was getting paranoid. 

I groaned quietly and to myself when I realized I would be seeing a lot of Lance. It would be embarrassing, seeing someone who knew so much about you yet knew so little at the same time. 

I quickly walked to first period, keeping my head down and not looking anyone in the eye. I didn't want to see anyone and I didn't want anyone to see me.

I peered into the classroom to see everyone already seated. I wasn't late, they were all early. That was good, I couldn't be late.

Lance was there too. 

I swallowed and bit my lip hard enough to draw blood. I sat down at my desk, looking down at the surface. I didn't want to see Lance and his friends. I knew that Allura was sitting next to him. 

I had to avoid both of them, and then there was also the rest of the gang.

I couldn't do it. It was near impossible to stay away from people in a school. You always ran into them somehow.

I felt a tapping on my shoulder and tensed up. I know who it was, but I wasn't ready to face him yet. I swatted the finger away and kept my eyes trained downward. 

"Keith," Lance murmured from my side. "Buddy, listen to me. It's alright, we won't judge you on what happened. We just want to help." 

I made a mistake. I looked up. 

He was staring at me with such worry in his stupid and beautiful eyes. It was more worry than anyone had ever felt for me. Maybe he really did care.

"Yes?" I whispered, too caught up in the fact that he was looking at me to realize that I was breaking my promise to myself. "And how would you help me?"

"We could stay with you for most of the day..." He trailed off, tapping his fingers on his desk. "Hey! I know! Allura's holding a sleepover at her house on Friday, which is today. You wanna come?" 

I hesitated. "Y-yeah?"

Lance laughed and patted my shoulder. "Keith, dude, that sounded like a question. Yes or no?"

I wanted to go. I wanted to go so badly. 

But if I went, I would probably start crying, and I've never been invited to anyone's house before. What if my manners weren't proper? What if they turned against me? 

Actually, I was sick of living like this. I would go. I would hang out with others. 

"I'm coming," I said with as much confidence as possible. 

Lance grinned and held up his hand for a high five, which I gave. "That's awesome! Allura's gonna be so happy to see you there!" He paused for a moment, turning to his other side to speak to someone else. He turned back to me.

"Alright Keith, Allura said I could tell you this. Her parents died when she was young, so she lives with her uncle, Coran. It's a sensitive subject for her, so just be careful with what you say." I nodded and smiled to myself.

Someone knew what I was going through.

Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all.


	5. Chapter 5

I found myself at the door of Allura's massive home. It wasn't massive massive, but to me, it could have been a farm and I would have been happy. 

It didn't take much convincing to get Arnold to bring me here, he was just happy that I was socializing. Every other kid at my foster home wanted me to go too. I didn't know that it was so obvious I rarely hung out with anyone.

I nervously pressed the doorbell, my hand trembling slightly. The door opened and I squeaked. A man with ginger hair and a stunning ginger mustache answered the door, smiling excitedly.

"Oh, Allura! Another one of your friends has come!" He spun around and walked back into the house as Allura came rushing forward.

"Keith!" she cried, flinging her arms around me. "I'm so glad you could come!" I had flinched slightly due to the contact but had slowly eased into the hug. She ushered me inside, leading me to a room where everyone else was already sitting.

Lance waved and patted the ground next to him. I felt a blush rising and smiled shyly, sitting down beside him.

Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro were all grinning at me. It was slightly unnerving, but it felt nice to have someone smile at you.

"Alright, let's get this party started!" Lance yelled, earning cheers from everyone but me. "Let's do truth or dare!" I shuddered at the mention of the game, remembering all the times they had played it at my foster home. I had never joined, but it usually ended up with someone bleeding, crying, or kissing. I would like to avoid all three.

"I'll just watch," I murmured, hoping that it didn't come off as weird to them. I didn't want to start making friends only to throw them out of the window. 

"Yeah, it's alright. Anything you do it up to you," Shiro said kindly from where he was sitting beside Allura. "And if you feel like joining, that is completely fine." 

Maybe having friends wasn't such a bad thing. I could live with this.

The five of them sat in a circle while I watched from a couch.

"Ooh! Ooh! I wanna go first!" Pidge was grinning madly, waving her arm in the air. The others groaned but let her go first. "Okay, okay, Lance. Truth or dare?"

Lance coughed nervously and tapped his chin. "Uh, I'll go with truth?" Pidge groaned, and I let out a soft giggle, trying to imagine what she would have made him do for the dare.

"Fine, you big baby," she sighed, crossing her arms. "Let's go with one of the classics: you gotta crush?" Lance snorted and nodded, and that was that. It didn't seem as bad as the one that happened in my foster home, but it was only the first round.

"Hm," Lance hummed, narrowing his eyes as he looked around the group. "Hunk!" The poor boy screeched and fell sideways, the yell surprised him so much. "Truth or dare, my man?"

Hunk gulped and asked, "Truth?" Lance seemed disappointed but shrugged.

"Okay! What is your weirdest habit?" It didn't seem like a very big thing to ask, but Hunk groaned. "Nuh uh, you have to answer!" Lance singsonged.

"Fine. I guess my weirdest habit is that I repeatedly light and then blow out candles when I'm nervous?" The others in the group laughed, and I joined in. I slapped a hand over my mouth, surprised with my behavior. 

"Can we play something else now?" Hunk asked. "I don't like this game." Lance and Pidge groaned and started whining about how they just started while Allura and Shiro shrugged.

"Sure," Allura said, looking at me. "Let's do something Keith wants." All eyes went to me and I shrugged helplessly. I was useless with games and what to do to have fun.

"Uh, I haven't played anything before?" I winced at how my 'statement' sounded. It was a literal question.

Lance screamed as though he had just watched someone murder his favorite toy. "What?!" He stood up and tugged me to my feet, hopefully not seeing the blush that adorned my cheeks. "We are so fixing that. Tell me that you've watched movies before."

I felt the others looking at me and I shook my head. "They do watch movies all the time at the foster home but-" I cut myself off, slapping my free hand over my stupid mouth. Shit. I had just told them that I lived in a foster home. 

Lance tilted his head to the side as if he were confused. "But then who was that guy who came to pick you up from the nurse? You did call him dad."

I felt myself beginning to panic. I had found friends - people who might actually want to hang out with me - and I had thrown it all away. Tears made their way down my cheeks and I snatched my hand out of Lance's. 

I tried to open my mouth to speak but all that came out was a sob. I fell to the ground, shaking uncontrollably. They wouldn't accept me now that they knew the truth. They were going to tell the whole school and I would be done for.

"Hey, Keith, it's alright." Allura had come and sat by my side, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me close. "There's no need to cry. I know how it feels when your parents die, but trust me, there is no need to blame yourself." 

I shook my head, hoping it would get my point across. "T-they didn't d-d-die. They le-left me." My voice sounded pathetic to even me. I had just ruined what was supposed to be a fun sleepover. 

Allura gasped and held me against her in a tighter embrace. Lance sat down on my other side and held one of my hands supportively.

Once I had calmed down enough to speak properly, I apologized. "I'm am so sorry you had to see me like that. I understand if you want me to leave-"

"FUCK NO." I flinched at the yell that erupted from Lance's mouth. "You are staying with us and I don't give a fuck about whether your parents left you, you are going to be my friend." He smiled at me and ruffled my hair, making me give him a shy smile in return.

"Yeah," Allura said, still not letting go of me. "My parents died, so I know how it feels. There is no way you are leaving us!" 

The other three nodded in agreement, boosting my confidence. Maybe they did want to be my friends. I would let them, but not trust completely. It would take a while for that. 

Lance got to his feet and then helped Allura and I get to ours. "Let's do something productive! Maybe..." He thought for a while, looking around in thought. "Let's either bake or do karaoke!"

I almost choked on my spit. "Karaoke?" I squeaked, shaking my head violently. "I would much rather bake, thanks." Lance nodded.

"Then baking it is." A devilish grin appeared on his face. "But it's going to be a competition. Get into pairs!" Allura immediately went to Shiro's side while Pidge and Hunk high-fived. That left Lance and me.

"Looks like we're partners, dude!" Lance grinned while punching mine lightly on the shoulder. "This is gonna be great! I'm amazing at baking! You know how to bake?"

I winced. "Uh... no?" Lance shrugged and ran into the kitchen, grabbing me and dragging me behind him.

"WE CALL DIBS MAKING A CAKE!" He seemed happy and I felt a smile spreading across my face. I lit up just hearing his laugh. "No, Pidge, go make some goddamn cookies." He flipped the finger at Pidge, who had just asked why she and Hunk couldn't make a cake too.

Allura and Shiro decided on cupcakes while Pidge and Hunk went with Lance's suggestion: cookies. 

Hunk, Lance, and Allura seemed to know what they were doing. The two others and I just did as they asked us to, passing them what they needed and grabbing ingredients. The only slightly interesting thing that happened was when Lance fell face-first after tripping over his own feet.

"Done!" Lance announced, proudly showing me the cake. He had frosting on his cheek and I leaned over and wiped it off without thinking. He smiled at me and winked. "Thanks, babe." 

I began to stutter and I'm pretty sure my face was redder than the house slippers I wore. Why did he just call me babe?! 

Allura laughed and patted me on the back. "It's good, Keith. He calls people that without realizing it!" I breathed out a sigh that was both relief and disappointment. 

"Well," Lance cut in, throwing his arms around both of us. "Team Klance has finished!" 

"Klance?" Allura and I echoed in unison.

"Yeah, Keith. It's our team name. Allura and Shiro are Shallura and Pidge and Hunk are Punk because that sounds hella cool!" He grinned as if he were proud of himself and Allura snorted.

"Shiro, did you hear that?" Shiro looked at his girlfriend and nodded, sliming softly.

"Yeah, I thought it was cool!" His voice was calm as ever. 

Lance smirked smugly and bumped Allura with his hip. He stuck his tongue out and she did the same. They had the type of sibling love that I had always wanted but would never get.

"We'll eat these things tomorrow." Hunk said, putting all the desserts in the fridge. "It's getting late, so we should go to sleep. Let's go, everyone." Everyone but Hunk and I groaned and whined like five-year-olds.

Hunk was having none of it.

"Up. Now." 

Shiro was the first to trudge upstairs, Allura close on his heels. Pidge bounded up after them and Lance sprinted up the stairs two at the time, with me running behind him. I could hear Hunk's heavy steps behind me.

I followed Lance into the room all of us would be sleeping in. Apparently, Allura And Pidge had no trouble when sleeping in a room full of boys, and Shiro didn't mind it. Everyone else was already settled into their sleeping bags when I realized I didn't have one.

Lance lifted the corner of his blindfold and asked, "Dude, why aren't you sleeping?"

I coughed awkwardly and winced at my stupidity. "I may have forgotten that I don't have a sleeping bag..." He laughed and pointed to the couch.

"There's that. I can go get a blanket and pillow for you if you need it." I shook my head, pulling my pillow and blanket from the foster home out of my bag. "Alright, well you're settled!" 

I flopped onto the couch and shut my eye, smiling at the noise of Pidge's soft snoring and the rustling of Shiro's sleeping bag. Maybe friends wouldn't be too hard to keep.


	6. Chapter 6

I blinked my eyes open, finding myself in a room that was unfamiliar. "Loyd?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. "Where are we?" I looked around. Loyd wasn't there. "Loyd?!" I hopped off of the couch that I had been sleeping on and sprinted down the stairs, where I could hear laughter and talking.

"Where's Loyd?!" Five confused faces peered at me. Right. I was at Allura's house for a sleepover. 

"Who's Loyd?" Lance managed to ask around a mouthful of pancake. "Is he your boyfriend or something?"

I felt myself turn red and I crossed my arms over my chest, embarrassed. "No! He's a guy from my foster home that always wakes me up in the morning to eat breakfast. I'm not used to sleeping in other places." 

Lance rolled his eyes and patted the chair next to him. "Sure, dude, just come sit down and eat." The food looked amazing, and Hunk, Allura, and the guy with the ginger hair and beard were cooking. But I wasn't hungry nor used to eating breakfast.

"Well, I don't eat in the morning. Someone else can sit there." Lance rolled his eyes again and got up, dragging me to the chair. 

"Sit. Eat." I did as he asked, waiting for a plate of food to come my way.

"Keith!" Allura slid a plate with three pancakes across the table so that they landed in front of me. She must do this a lot. "Eat up, love! We're going out today!"

I was about to take a bite of the pancake but stilled. "Go out?" I echoed, putting the fork down. "Where? When?" 

She laughed and waved a hand. "Don't you worry about it! It's a surprise!" She hummed and danced to a song inside her head as she readied more plates of food for the rest of the group. "Coran, you have Arnold's contacts, right?"

The ginger-haired man nodded and grinned, kissing Allura's head. "Calm down, Keith is going to be well cared for!"

I glanced around suspiciously, noting the other's smiling and looking like they were holding something back. Shiro's smile was the widest, and he kept looking at me from the corner of his eye.

"I'm not eating until you tell me what's going on." I pushed the plates away and folded my arms on the table, steadily looking everyone in the eye.

"Oh, fine, you absolute ass!" Lance said, waving to Shiro. 

Shiro nervously fiddled with his shirt. "Uh, Keith... I know that I don't know you very well but, uh..." He winced at his stuttering. "I kinda told my parents about you last night while I was calling them and they thought it would be a good idea to adopt you and we might become brothers if you want to. I mean, it's totally up to you!" 

Allura patted his back as he put his head in his hands. 

I didn't mind all his stumbling on words, though. I would finally get away from Arnold. Sure, I would miss some of the other kids at the foster home, but none of them knew me well enough to miss me. 

I could be free.

I could have a home, a family.

"That would be great," I murmured, fantasizing about all the things that I would be able to do after being adopted. "But that still doesn't tell me where we're going."

"It's actually not a very great place," Pidge piped up, putting down her fork and lacing her fingers. "Allura and Lance are just shopaholics. We're going to the fucking mall." 

Allura and Lance yelled in protest and Shiro said, "Language." I would have fun, being part of this group of friends.

And so far they've accepted me, even after hearing the dark things about me. I think that's what friends are meant to do, stay with you even after knowing your deepest secrets.

"I've never been to a mall." 

Lance looked at me, jaw dropped. "You've never been to a mall?" he repeated quietly, and I could see Allura pulling at her hair. "You have so much to learn, babe." I didn't blush as much as I did the first time he called me 'babe,' but I still blushed.

"We're leaving now." Allura dragged Shiro and Hunk outside, Pidge following her. Lance got out of his seat, leaving his food behind. I jumped to my feet, not wanting to be left behind.

I found my way outside, staring at a normal car. I wasn't good with the names of vehicles, they were all just cars to me. Shiro was in the driver's seat and staring nervously at the wheel. I hoped he could drive. Allura was in the passenger seat and singing and clapping with Lance, who was sitting in the back. Hunk and Pidge decided to sit in the very back, smiling at the scene in front of them.

I climbed into the car, sitting beside Lance. "Okay, okay, okay! You, me, and Allura are going on a shopping spree together. We're just dropping the others off at Carrefour. They're getting the groceries."

Pidge sighed. "Oh, groceries. My least favorite things to buy."

"Pidge, you hate buying everything."

"Shut up, Lance."

I smiled at the small exchange between the two. It was nice, watching others talk so freely to each other. Back at the foster home, everyone was cautious about speaking, not knowing what would break a person.

"Let's get this party started!" Allura yelled, Lance aggressively cheering as she turned the radio on. Shiro backed out of the driveway, and soon we were on our way to the mall.

The others talked the whole way while I listened and looked out the window, sometimes joining in on conversations, only to stare out at the other cars once again. 

"OOH!" Lance screeched, grabbing my arm. "THIS IS MY JAM!" A song that I have never heard came on, and he wiggled in his seat, attempting to dance while sitting down."A ELLA LE GUSTA LA GASOLINA!"

"WHATCHA SAY!" Allura chimed in, looking just as happy as Lance did. 

"DAMA MAS GASOLINA!" Lance yelled, still trying to dance. 

"HEY!" the two screamed in unison, making Shiro wince and me laugh. 

"Stop screaming!" Shiro hissed, his eyes focused on the road. He was what every person thought of when you said 'good driver.' "I'm trying to get us there safely."

Allura and Lance sighed and stopped singing, although they mouthed the words to the song.

"I've never heard this song before," I mused, spotting a huge, rectangular building that we were getting closer to with each passing minute. It must be the mall. "But it isn't exactly singing, it's more of screaming words."

Lance gasped from the side of me and covered my mouth with his hands, muffling my words of protest. "Never say that about my song ever again, mmkay?" 

"Our song," Allura corrected from the front, twisting in her seat to glare at me. 

"We're here," Shiro said, cutting in before I could say anything. Thankfully, it distracted the two predators from me. Lance and Allura hopped out of the car as soon as we were parked, waiting for me to get out and then running, each of them holding one of my hands.

"Have fun!" Pidge yelled, and I could hear the smirk in her voice.


	7. Chapter 7

I gasped when the three of us stepped into the mall, awed by the many stores and the people who roamed around, carefree. 

"I know, right?" Lance swooned. "It's perfect." He and Allura sighed in unison and began walking forward, leading me to a bunch of stairs that were moving up on one side and down on the other. I've heard about these, just forgot what they were called.

I cautiously stepped on one of the steps and held onto the rail, which was moving too. I squeaked as we began moving upward, and Allura caught my eye.

"Never been on an escalator, huh? Well, get adjusted quickly, we're going on a lotta them." She rubbed her hands together eagerly and Lance squealed. Shopaholics. Pidge was right. I'd have to start listening to that girl.

We walked into the first store, which was called H&M. A weird name, yeah, but I guess that a lot of people liked going there because it was huge and slightly packed. Lance dragged me to the men's section with Allura pushing me from the back. 

"Why are we all going there?" I asked, stumbling forward awkwardly. "And if it's for me, it's fine. I don't need clothes."

Lance snorted and kept pulling me forward. "Too bad, babe. Everyone needs new clothes." Allura nodded in agreement and picked a shirt from off a rack. It was collared and plaid. I hated to admit that I liked it.

"This would look cute on Keith, hm?" Allura said to Lance as though I weren't there. He nodded and rubbed his chin, squinting his eyes as he looked from me to the shirt. 

"We're buying it." He grabbed a basket that another shopped had left behind and dumped the clothing items out of it and onto the floor. "In here." Allura put the plaid shirt into the basket and they continued to stroll around the store, occasionally putting clothing items into the basket.

Pretty soon the basket was filled to the brim with clothes that the two Shopaholics had chosen for the whole group of friends. Allura was a machine when it came to shopping, and seeing her combined forces with Lance... 

It was kinda awesome.

I just trailed along behind them, not knowing how to help. Sometimes I would stop to look at a shirt or pair of jeans that I like and BAM, it was in the basket. I protested for a while before realizing that they weren't going to give in.

We walked out of the store with each of us carrying a separate bag filled with clothes. Allura pointed to another store, and the two made a beeline for it with me jogging after them.

"Remind me to never come shopping with you ever again," I panted, leaning against the display window of the new store, Hot Topic. 

I looked inside the store and gasped in delight. I think that I might've cried if I hadn't remembered I was in a mall. "It's beautiful," I murmured, my tiredness forgotten. I walked into the store in a daze, smiling to myself.

All the band shirts...

"We thought you would like it here," Lance piped up from my right side. 

"Yes! Because of all the... emo that you seem to be." I was so happy I didn't even correct Allura. I wasn't emo, I just really, really, really liked the color black. 

"Knock yourself out!" Lance waved a hand to gesture to the whole store. I headed for the shirts and they followed, 'oohing' and 'ahing' at some of the items on display. I picked out a few shirts from my favorite bands and handed them to Lance, who just held them.

"Let's get matching shirts!" Lance suggested, picking out the same shirts for him and Allura. "The others will be so jealous, and we'll look so badass!" 

I grinned at him and nodded. It would be cool to have the same shirts, especially when they were band shirts. 

The three of us skipped out of the store, pleased with our short but sweet shopping spree. 

"Shiro says that he and the two others are ready," Allura said, checking her phone. "But we still have one more thing to do..."

"I think we have enough clothes." I glanced down at the multiple bags we were carrying. People were staring at us and I didn't like the feeling of being looked at.

"No, silly! I meant Jamba Juice!" Allura giggled as if I were supposed to know this. I guess it was a tradition with her and Lance, now including me. "Let's go!"

...

We walked back to the car sipping our smoothies and carrying our many bags like they do in some of the movies I've watched. Lance climbed into the car first, me entering after him. Allura slammed her door closed and kissed Shiro's cheek, bouncing up and down giddily.

"Baby, we got so many clothes! I found a cute shirt for you and then I got Pidge and I matching overalls and then I got Hunk a few more bandanas, because why not?! And then Lance, Keith and I got matching band shirts and I can't wait to try them out!"

Shiro was smiling softly and started the drive back to Allura's home. "That's awesome, love." He looked at me through the mirror hanging from the top of the car. "And, Keith, Mom and Dad are signing the papers to get you adopted. I'm your new big brother!" 

The atmosphere became even happier. Lance was hugging me and I was laughing harder than I ever have in years. Pidge and Hunk were cheering and trying to come up with a new song in my honor. Allura and Shiro were high-fiving and giggling.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I cried, hugging Lance back, even though he didn't do anything. "I can't wait to meet them and living with you is gonna be so cool and -" Lance cut me off by placing a kiss on my head.

My face went up in flames and I pulled away from him. "Uh, I, um," I lamely stuttered, not knowing how to react. He was grinning from ear-to-ear.

"I'm so happy for you, Keith! And now you're gonna be forced to be our friend!" I laughed, but it sounded awkward to me. 

...

We reached the house and we all filed inside, all of us dropping the bags by the door.

"Another shopping trip, I see," Coran said, a smile in his voice. "Since you kids didn't eat breakfast properly, I'm making a big lunch for you all. Now go upstairs and play a silly game."

Lance was the first upstairs and we all followed him.

He was standing at the top of the steps proudly, his hands on his hips as if he were our leader. "Now, we are going to be doing karaoke." Before any of us could protest, he went on, "And since I got upstairs first, I get to choose." 

There was a little bit of mumbling before Pidge sighed. "Valid enough, I guess."


	8. Chapter 8

I coughed and stepped down the stairs. "Uh, I'd rather not sing, thanks." 

Lance snorted and grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs. "No way you're running out of this one!"

I groaned as he pushed me into the room we had all slept in, except this time it had a karaoke machine. 

"I forgot we had that," Allura mused, inspecting the machine. "I don't even know if it still works."

Lance grinned and nodded. "Oh, it works. I tried it out last night while you guys were all fast asleep!" Hunk shook his head and sighed. 

"Wow, Lance." Hunk sat down on the ground. "I'm definitely not singing, though." Lance shrugged and pointed to Allura.

"You and me?"

"No." 

"Dammit."

I chuckled at their small banter, but my laughing came to an abrupt halt when Lance turned to face me. "You wanna sing with me?" he challenged, bracing his hands on his hips. Of course, I shook my head. There was no way that I was about to sing.

"Can we just not sing?" Shiro asked, leaning against the doorframe. "No one wants to do it - no one is going to do it - but you, Lance." Lance whined but no one was listening to him.

"Then can we go watch a movie?" His shoulders were hunched and he had a sour expression on his face. "One that I get to choose, for once." Shiro shrugged.

"I don't see anything wrong about that."

Lance trudged out of the room with us right on his heels. While we were all walking down the stairs, he came to an abrupt halt, causing Pidge to run into his back. "Hey! Watch it, you dick!" she snapped, righting herself.

Lance spun around, ignoring the insult. "Allura, let's try on those new clothes we bought." Allura squealed, but Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge all groaned. I didn't see anything wrong with trying on clothes.

Shiro noticed me being confused and smiled. "When they say 'trying on clothes,' they mean that we all have to try on the new clothes they bought. All of them." I shuddered, remembering the many bags I was forced to carry.

"This is gonna be hell," I muttered, Shiro nodding in agreement. "And I don't suppose that there's a way to change their minds, is there?" Shiro shook his head.

This was gonna be a long day.

...

Allura and Lance had forced us all into the living room, choosing Pidge to try on her clothes first. She tried to fight back, but there was no way to stop those two. Thankfully for Pidge, they only bought her one dress, a new shirt, and overalls. 

Pidge stepped out of the bathroom, miserably fiddling with the hem of the lime green dress she was forced into. "Fuck you guys." Allura giggled and handed her the shirt and overalls, ushering her back into the bathroom. She stepped out again, after a few minutes. The shirt looked good on her, and I thought it matched her perfectly. On it, it read 'I'm attracted to science.' She seemed happy with the outfit.

Next was Hunk, who only had a few new bandanas to try on and a pair of shorts. The shorts were like the usual cargo shorts that he almost always wears, so it wasn't very entertaining. The bandanas weren't much of a show, either.

Shiro volunteered after Hunk, telling me that he just wanted to get it over with. Allura had bought them matching shirt, his saying 'I'M TOO HOT' and hers saying 'HOT DAMN.' He couldn't help but laugh at that. The next shirts were all long sleeved and solid colors, but he seemed happy with them.

Ans then everyone made me go. I protested but was still shoved into the bathroom with a heap of clothes.

I stared down at the pile and sighed in defeat. Better get started, then. 

I changed into the plaid shirt with black ripped jeans first, deciding that I might as well start off simple. stepped out of the bathroom and Lance wolf-whistled, making me blush.

"Lookin' good, mullet!" he yelled, even though he was sitting close by. Shiro glared at him and then looked at me, a protective look in his eyes. Big brother, activate. 

"Uh, th-thanks?" I managed to stammer, quickly hiding back in the bathroom. I leaned against the door and clutched at my chest. Lance said that I looked good. 

The rest of my turn went on similarly to that. I only had to change my shirt, since we only bought me one pair of pants, which was a blessing. Lance would shout out a compliment every time I exited the bathroom, and Shiro would throw a glare his way.

It made me feel good, having someone compliment me and then having someone who felt the need to protect me. I haven't been this well-cared for in a while.

Allura jumped up and shooed me away from the bathroom, tossing my clothes out of the room. "My turn!" 

She looked stunning in everything she changed into, and she could pull off any look. Shiro's face was red the entire time and I nudged him with my shoulder.

"Someone's blushing!" I singsonged, sticking my tongue out at him. He put his head in his hands, groaning.

"Says the boy who couldn't speak when Lance complimented him!" he retorted, taking his head out of his hands. He smirked at me and I hit him with one of the shirts that littered the floor.

"Is it really that obvious?" I grimaced, wondering what Lance was thinking.

"Nah, I'm just good at this stuff. Lance is the most oblivious human you'll ever meet, which is both good and bad for you." I sighed, clapping as Allura twirled in a skirt. 

"Yay for me."

Shiro and I watched the rest of Allura's fashion show, and it was surprising that I could speak so freely with someone who I had just met, even though he's my elder brother now. The thought made me smile. I had a family and a home and awesome friends.

"Aye, it's my turn now!" Lance slammed the bathroom door shut. Every time he came out in a different outfit, I would blush. It made me mad, having these annoying feelings, but I couldn't hate Lance for them.

We had finally finished our 'fashion show,' and everyone was resting on the couch, somehow finding a way to fit. I was sitting on one of the arms of the couch, leaning heavily against Shiro's arm. 

Coran burst into the room, carrying a plate for each of us. He set them down on the carpet and grinned at us. "Eat well!" He left right after kissing Allura's head. 

"I still don't understand how he can balance all of those on his arms," Allura said, speaking to Shiro. He shrugged and kissed her cheek.

"We can think about that another time, now eat!" Allura stuck her tongue out at him but hopped off of the couch, sitting on the floor. Shiro sat down beside her and I lowered myself to sit beside him, not knowing what else to do.

"Hey, Keith," Lance said, sitting beside me with two plates in his hands. He passed one to me. "You looked great! You could probably become a runway model, what with the.." he faltered, not finding the right word. He just gestured to me. "That." 

"I'm going to take that as a compliment," I smiled, leaning against the couch and stuffing a french fry into my mouth. "Thanks."

"Good, because it was a compliment." Lance was blushing and he looked angry. Did I make him mad? 

I felt someone's eyes on me and I looked up, spotting Shiro grinning at me. He winked and I blushed, flipping the finger at him. I looked back to Lance, who looked confused and slightly hurt. Shit. 

"Oh, uh, I can go if you want me to." He was refusing to look at me - to even look in my direction! I grabbed his arm as he started to stand up, pulling him back down beside me.

"Sorry, that wasn't directed at you. That was for Shiro." I went back to smiling as Lance exhaled in what seemed to be relief. I was going to continue speaking, but his phone started to ring. 

He answered it, speaking in Spanish.

He was cute, and he could speak Spanish. Jackpot. 

He hung up on the call. "Yo, Allura! My mom said I could stay for one more night since they're going out for a fancy brunch tomorrow!" Allura gave him a thumbs up and went back to listening to whatever Pidge was talking about.

"Sorry, Keith. Did you want to say something?" Lance was oblivious. I could tell by the innocent way he looked at me. 

"Uh, I just wanted to ask whose house I already went to." I winced at my horrible conversing skills, but he didn't seem to mind.

"That was Hunk's house. He lives in some bad parts, I know, but the dude is tough. You're living with Shiro, right?" He grinned when I nodded. "He has this huge house - bigger than Allura's - and it's, like, three stories tall!"

I imagined myself living in a place like that, but the thought was hard to conjure. Me, living in a huge house? I don't think so.

But I would have to accept it since it would be my new life.


End file.
